The Zohar,
one of the earliest and most important Jewish mystical texts, was written
by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
and his disciples. The following is an original translation, in bold face,
of a selected text from the Zohar [vol. III, 11b ff.] on the first chapter
of the Torah, together with selections based on major commentaries. The
latter have been woven into the text itself, in plain face within
parentheses, in order to provide the reader with a smooth, comprehensive
text without requiring extensive footnotes, which are used mostly for
technical information and sources. — M.M.

("The world was created by
means of ten utterances."1 The following section explains the
connection between the asarah ma’amorot [Ten Utterances] in Genesis
and the aseret hadibrot [Ten Commandments] in Exodus 20.)

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
taught: kaf asarah asarah — (“Each incense bowl weighed ten
sanctuary shekels”—lit:) each bowl ten ten.2 Why (the
doubled words) “ten ten?” Once, to allude to the work of creation, and
once to allude to the Torah. There are ten utterances in the creation of the
world, and (corresponding to them) ten utterances in the Torah
(the Ten Commandments).

What does this tell us?
That the world was created for the sake of Torah, and as long as the Jewish
people occupy themselves with Torah, the world will continue to exist. But
if the Jewish people abandon Torah, the verse declares, “If not for My
Covenant (the Torah3), I would not have set day and night,
and the bounds of heaven and earth.”4

The Zohar now explains
how the ten utterances parallel the Ten Commandments.The 1st (commandment, instructing us to have faith in G-d) states:
I am the Lord your G-d...” Regarding creation, the verse states: “There
shall be light, and there was light.”5From the verse “G-d is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?”6
we learn that faith in the Holy One, blessed be He, is also called
“light.” (Hence, light and faith in G-d, the first commandment,
correspond.)

The 2nd states: “You
shall have no other gods before Me,” and (the second utterance) states:
“There shall be a firmament between the waters, and it shall divide between
water and water.”

“There shall be a
firmament,” refers to the Jewish people who are part of G-d Above,7
for they are attached to that plane which is called shemayim
(Heaven , or firmament). “Between the waters,” — among the words of Torah
(which is called water, as our Sages explain8) “And it
(the Jewish people) shall divide between water and water” — between G-d,
who is called “the Source of Living Water”9 and false deities
which are called “broken wells”9 containing bitter, putrid and
stagnant water. (Thus, the division between water and water is dependent
on the Jewish people learning Torah.)

The 3rd states: “Do not
take the name of G-d in vain,” and (the third utterance) states: “The waters
below the firmament shall be gathered into one place..” Do not cause a
separation in the unity of the waters (referring to the Shechinah — the
indwelling Divine Presence10) by uttering a false oath.

The 4th states: “Remember
the Sabbath to keep it holy,” and (the fourth utterance) states, “The
earth shall sprout vegetation..” When does the earth become fertile and
become covered with vegetation? On the Sabbath, when the bride (the
Sabbath) unites with the King (G-d).11 This brings
forth vegetation and blessing for the world. (Every weekday is provided
its food by virtue of the blessing it receives from the Shabbath,12
just as the manna which came down only during the week, was by virtue of the
Sabbath.13)

The 5th states: “Honor
your father and mother,” and (the fifth utterance) states, “There
shall be luminaries in the sky ...” This means that the luminaries are your
father and mother — the sun is your father, and the moon your mother,
alluding to the Holy One, blessed be He, your father, as the verse states.
“For the sun and its sheath are G-d, the Lord.”14 (The
verse makes an association between G-d — who is the ultimate source of all
“light” in the sense of Divine revelation — and the sun, the source of
physical light.) And the moon refers to Knesset Yisrael (the
collective soul of the Jewish people), as the verse states (regarding
Israel), “Your moon shall never disappear.” 15 (It seems
that the intention here is that our “father and mother” — G-d, and the
collective Jewish soul — are honored by the Torah which the Jewish people
learn in this world, as our Sages explain, “There is no honor other than
Torah.”16)

The 6th states: “Do not
murder,” and (the sixth utterance) states “The waters shall teem with
living creatures.” Do not kill a man, who is also called “a living
creature.”17 And do not be like fish, the larger of which
swallows the smaller.

The 7th states: “Do not
commit adultery,” and (the seventh utterance) states, “The earth
shall bring forth living creatures... in their species.” From this we learn
that a man should not approach a woman who is not his soulmate. For this
reason the verse, “in their species.” A woman must not bear children from
one who is not her “species” i.e. her soul mate.

The 8th states: “Do not
steal,” and (the eight utterance) states, “I have given you every
seedbearing plant on the surface of the earth.” i.e. that which I have given
you, and allowed you to use, is yours. Do not steal that which belongs to
someone else.

The 9th states: “Do not
testify as a false witness,” and (the ninth utterance) states, “We
shall make man with Our image, of Our likeness.” Do not testify falsely
against one who bears the Divine image. And if one testifies falsely, it is
as if he blasphemed.

The 10th states: “Do not
be envious of your neighbor’s wife...” and (the tenth utterance)
states, “It is not good that man is alone. I will make him a helper to match
him.” This refers to each person’s soul-mate who matches him perfectly.
Hence, “Do not be envious of your neighbor’s wife...”

These are the ten
utterances of creation, which parallel the Ten Commandments. Therefore the
verse (quoted originally) states, “Each bowl weighed ten,” for they
weigh the same. and by virtue of this the world survives and maintains
equilibrium....

1. Avot 5:12. Numbers 7:863. Or Yakar4. Yeremiah 33:25, Rashi5. Note that this passage in the Zohar does not regard the
first word in the Torah, bereishit, as the first utterance, as
explained previously. (Zohar 1:39b) Perhaps this is according to the view
that the verse, “I am the Lord your G-d,” also expresses belief in G-d
Himself, which is not a commandment, but precedes all commandments.
Nevertheless, in the light of other passages in the Zohar this seems
unlikely.6. Psalms 27:17. Job 31:2.8. Bava Kama 17a9. Jeremiah 2:1310. See Chagiga 14b regarding the advice of R. Akiva to the
Sages who entered the Pardes: Do not say, “Water, water.” (i.e. cause a
separation between the waters); Pardes Rimonim s.v. shayish11. Technically, this refers to the yichud
(unification) of malchut and zair anpin - Commentaries12. Zohar vol.II,p 88a13. Zohar ibid14. Psalms 84:12. The Names used in this verse are
Havayeh, the Tetragrammaton, denoting the transcendent revalation of G-d
as He is in Himself, and Elokim, G-d as He is within creation.15. Isaiah 60:2016. Avot 6:3; Zohar vol.III, p. 81b.17.Genesis 2:7

Excerpted from a
pioneering English translation, from the original Aramaic, of selected
passages in the Zohar, together with commentary, by Rabbi Moshe Leib
Miller, formerly an occasional guest teacher at Ascent and currently a Rosh
Yeshiva in New Jersey.